Where does “päälaiva” come from?

päälaiva (Finnish) comes from Finnish laiva, from Proto-Finnic laiva, from Proto-Finnic lawja, from Proto-Germanic flawją, from Proto-Indo-European plew- — to fly, flow, run.

päälaiva (Finnish): main nave, central nave in a multi-naved building - often a church - the largest and usually most centrally located of the naves

Definitions

  1. main nave, central nave in a multi-naved building - often a church - the largest and usually most centrally located of the naves

Ancestry of “päälaiva”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Finnishlaivaship; nave
2Proto-Finniclaivaship
3Proto-Finniclawja—
4Proto-Germanicflawjąship, vessel
5Proto-Indo-Europeanplew-to fly, flow, run
Every word from Proto-Indo-European plew- →Every word from Proto-Germanic flawją →Every word from Proto-Finnic lawja →